Viral Claim Resurfaces During Wimbledon 2025
Viral posts across Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit showed images of tennis balls with small holes cut out, purportedly placed in fields to provide shelter for Britain’s smallest rodent species.
One widely shared Instagram post read: “55,000 tennis balls are turned into homes for harvest mice after Wimbledon.” The caption further stated that the balls are donated to conservation groups that adapt them for safe use in grassy meadows and hedgerows, helping threatened mice survive habitat loss.Historical Basis of the Story
While the claim sounds like an ongoing eco-initiative, research reveals it’s an outdated conservation story.2001 BBC Report: Wimbledon donated some of its 36,000 tennis balls to The Wildlife Trusts, a network of U.K. conservation charities, to be modified into shelters for harvest mice.2003 Follow-up: Another BBC article noted that Wimbledon had donated 350 tennis balls for the project two years earlier.Snopes recently contacted both The Wildlife Trusts and Wimbledon for clarification. A Wildlife Trusts spokesperson confirmed: “The tennis ball story is very out of date as we haven't worked with Wimbledon in this way for some time.” A Wimbledon spokesperson echoed the same sentiment.Limited Repeat Efforts
In 2011, The Guardian reported that Wimbledon again donated tennis balls for use as mouse homes, this time at the request of a northern England aquarium. The article did not specify how many balls were given.
No evidence of ongoing large-scale donations has surfaced since then. However, other U.K. tennis clubs have occasionally contributed used balls for similar conservation purposes.Harvest Mice: Near Threatened in the U.K.
Harvest mice, classified as “Near Threatened” by the Mammal Society, are Britain’s smallest rodent species. A modified tennis ball provides ideal shelter, offering protection from predators. While these efforts have helped individual mice populations in the past, the practice is not widespread today.Current Fate of Wimbledon’s Tennis Balls
Wimbledon now sells used tennis balls on-site, with proceeds benefiting the Wimbledon Foundation, the tournament’s charitable arm. This practice has been in place for several years.As for unsold and unused balls, Wimbledon's website offers little detail. However, Keith Prowse, a sports hospitality partner, states that the balls are either donated or recycled after the tournament. Their website adds: “Previously, some of the balls have been donated to the UK Wildlife Trust who cut them up and used them to make homes for harvest mice.”Conservation Legacy, Not a Current Initiative
While it’s true that Wimbledon has contributed to conservation projects in the past, there is no ongoing program converting thousands of tennis balls annually into rodent shelters. The viral claim circulating during Wimbledon 2025 is a nostalgic echo of small-scale efforts from over a decade ago.
Viral posts across Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit showed images of tennis balls with small holes cut out, purportedly placed in fields to provide shelter for Britain’s smallest rodent species.
One widely shared Instagram post read: “55,000 tennis balls are turned into homes for harvest mice after Wimbledon.” The caption further stated that the balls are donated to conservation groups that adapt them for safe use in grassy meadows and hedgerows, helping threatened mice survive habitat loss.Historical Basis of the StoryWhile the claim sounds like an ongoing eco-initiative, research reveals it’s an outdated conservation story.2001 BBC Report: Wimbledon donated some of its 36,000 tennis balls to The Wildlife Trusts, a network of U.K. conservation charities, to be modified into shelters for harvest mice.2003 Follow-up: Another BBC article noted that Wimbledon had donated 350 tennis balls for the project two years earlier.Snopes recently contacted both The Wildlife Trusts and Wimbledon for clarification. A Wildlife Trusts spokesperson confirmed: “The tennis ball story is very out of date as we haven't worked with Wimbledon in this way for some time.” A Wimbledon spokesperson echoed the same sentiment.Limited Repeat Efforts
In 2011, The Guardian reported that Wimbledon again donated tennis balls for use as mouse homes, this time at the request of a northern England aquarium. The article did not specify how many balls were given.
No evidence of ongoing large-scale donations has surfaced since then. However, other U.K. tennis clubs have occasionally contributed used balls for similar conservation purposes.Harvest Mice: Near Threatened in the U.K.Harvest mice, classified as “Near Threatened” by the Mammal Society, are Britain’s smallest rodent species. A modified tennis ball provides ideal shelter, offering protection from predators. While these efforts have helped individual mice populations in the past, the practice is not widespread today.Current Fate of Wimbledon’s Tennis Balls
Wimbledon now sells used tennis balls on-site, with proceeds benefiting the Wimbledon Foundation, the tournament’s charitable arm. This practice has been in place for several years.As for unsold and unused balls, Wimbledon's website offers little detail. However, Keith Prowse, a sports hospitality partner, states that the balls are either donated or recycled after the tournament. Their website adds: “Previously, some of the balls have been donated to the UK Wildlife Trust who cut them up and used them to make homes for harvest mice.”Conservation Legacy, Not a Current Initiative
While it’s true that Wimbledon has contributed to conservation projects in the past, there is no ongoing program converting thousands of tennis balls annually into rodent shelters. The viral claim circulating during Wimbledon 2025 is a nostalgic echo of small-scale efforts from over a decade ago.
